Sourdough Discard Peanut Sticks Recipe (Buffalo Inspired Peanut Donuts)

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Sourdough Discard Peanut Sticks Recipe (Buffalo Inspired Peanut Donuts)

If you're a fan of Buffalo peanut sticks, you'll love the sourdough discard version of this traditional donut. These are crisp outside, moist and fluffy inside, and balance nutty peanut flavor with the subtle tanginess of sourdough and sweet glaze. And they're baked, not fried!

Course Breakfast, Dessert

Cuisine American, Buffalo Food

Keyword Peanut Donut, Peanut Doughnut, Peanut Stick Donuts, Peanut Sticks, Peanut Sticks Buffalo

Prep Time 18

Cook Time 12

Other Time: 3 30

Servings peanut sticks

Calories 236kcal

Author Faith Gorsky

Ingredients

Donuts:

70 grams all-purpose flour (a slightly rounded 1/2 cup)
3 tablespoons granulated white sugar
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons unsalted butter (chilled and diced)
2 tablespoons sourdough discard (chilled)
2 tablespoons sour cream (chilled)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon almond extract (optional)

Glaze:

75 grams powdered sugar (about 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon water (plus 3/4 teaspoon; about 19 mL total)

Other:

75 grams unsalted dry-roasted peanuts (about 1/2 cup; ground into meal)

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

For the Donuts:

Make the dough. Add the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the butter and toss it in the flour to coat, then cut it in until coarsely combined (we want some in larger pieces). Whisk together the sourdough, sour cream, vanilla extract, and almond extract in a small bowl. Add the wet mixture to the flour mixture, using a fork to gently combine until it forms a shaggy dough. Once it forms a shaggy dough, use your hands to knead it about 10 to 12 times so it forms a dough ball. (TIP 1: The dough will look a bit dry, but should come together as you knead it, and a little bit of flour left in the bottom of the bowl is fine; don't be tempted to add water, but you can wet your hands before kneading. TIP 2: Don't overwork the dough; not only will it over-develop the gluten and lead to tough donuts, but it will work the butter into the dough too much.)
Chill. Gently flatten and shape the dough ball into a rectangle about 3.5 inches by 4 inches, wrap it in plastic wrap, and pop it into the freezer for 20 minutes (see Notes). Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425F and line a small baking tray with parchment paper.
Shape. Cut the dough lengthwise into 3 slices and arrange them on the prepared tray spaced evenly apart.
Bake. Bake until the donuts are puffed and golden brown along the outside and on the bottoms, about 10 to 11 minutes (see Notes). Cool 5 minutes, and then glaze immediately.

Prepare the Toppings:

Glaze. Make the glaze as soon as the donuts are out of the oven because we want to glaze them while they're still hot so it soaks in. To do so, mix together the powdered sugar and water in a shallow bowl.
Peanut meal. Grind the peanuts into meal and put it in a separate shallow bowl. (TIP: I use a food processor to do this; we want the peanuts very, very finely chopped into a coarse meal. Don't over-process or you'll end up with peanut butter!)

Coat the Donuts:

After the donuts have been out of the oven for 5 minutes, dip them in glaze to coat, let the excess glaze run off, and then immediately coat them in peanut meal. (IMPORTANT: After 5 minutes they should be cool enough to touch, but your safety is of paramount importance so be careful and if they're too hot for you to handle, use tongs to do this.) Let the coating set and enjoy!

Notes

Chill Time: It's not a typo, we chill this dough in the freezer for 20 minutes. For optimal flavor and texture, don't skip this step, and don't go longer than that.
Bake Time: To get them crispy on the outside and simulate a fried donut, we bake these at a higher temperature and let them cook until they're just a touch darker than normal along the outside and on the bottoms. For my oven, about 10 1/2 minutes at 425F is perfect. Even though they're a little darker, they don't taste burned; this just helps them crisp on the outside so they're closer in texture to deep-fried donuts.
Storage: Like most donuts, these are the best eaten on same day they're made. However, you can store these in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. After the first day I like to pop them into a 350F oven briefly (about 5 minutes) to revive them.

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